USDA International Egg and Poultry

USDA International Egg and Poultry 5 November 2014

India Poultry and Eggs Review

India is one of the top chicken and egg producing countries in the world. In 2012 the UN Food and Agricultural Organization ranked India the sixth largest chicken meat producing country and the third largest egg producing country. Poultry meat and egg production have grown steadily over the past several years. India’s poultry meat production increased 8% in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12. In the 2012 All India Livestock Census, total poultry grew from 649 million birds to 729 million birds, an increase of 12% over the last census taken in 2007. Poultry consists of generally three categories: Fowls, Ducks, and Turkey & others.

Egg production (fowl and duck) is targeted to reach 72.9 billion eggs in 2013-14, up almost 5% from the previous year and 21% higher compared to 2009-10. In 2012-13, fowl egg production totaled 65.6 billion eggs, duck egg production reached 1.9 billion, and other eggs totaled 2.2 billion. If a hen/duck lays more than 100 eggs in a year then it is categorized as “improved” hen/duck or else it is categorized as “desi”.

India is a major exporter of egg products. India’s exports of liquid/frozen/dried whole eggs and egg yolks grew rapidly, from 6,685 metric tons in 2009 to 10,149 MT in 2013. The exported value in 2013 was $48.7 million, up from $26.6 million in 2009.

WTO Rules in Favor of the US in India Trade Dispute

A WTO dispute settlement panel has found in favor of the United States in a dispute challenging India’s ban on various U.S. agricultural products – such as poultry meat, eggs, and live pigs – allegedly to protect against avian influenza. The panel agreed with the United States that India’s ban breached numerous international trade rules, including because it was imposed without sufficient scientific evidence. For over seven years, India claimed it needed to restrict various U.S. agricultural products, including poultry meat, eggs, and live pigs, supposedly to prevent entry of avian influenza into India.

The United States, however, has not had an outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) since 2004, while during that same interval India has had over 90 HPAI outbreaks. The only other type of avian influenza detected in the United States since 2004 is low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) – an often symptomless disease that the United States can find because it maintains a state-of-the-art surveillance system to detect animal diseases. The United States has consistently explained to India that, as reflected in relevant international standards, there is no scientific basis to ban imports of U.S. agricultural products.

The United States initiated this dispute by requesting consultations with India on March 6, 2012. After consultations proved unsuccessful in resolving U.S. concerns, the WTO established a panel at the U.S. request to hear U.S. claims that India’s avian influenza restrictions are inconsistent with India’s WTO obligations. Under WTO rules, either party may request adoption of the panel report by the WTO within 60 days of the release of the report, and the report would be adopted unless an appeal is filed. If the report is appealed, WTO rules provide that the WTO Appellate Body must issue its report within 90 days of the filing of the appeal.

A copy of the Panel’s report may be found here: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news14_e/430r_e.htm Source: USTR Press Release “United States Wins WTO Trade Enforcement Dispute for American Farmers” 14 October 2014